Sequential bedform development in mixed turbidite–contourite systems: An example from the Cosmonaut Sea, East Antarctica

Abstract

Mixed turbidite–contourite depositional systems are commonly found on continental margins, but their bedforms and associated sedimentary processes have not been studied in depth. In this work, we used multibeam echo-sounder, sub-bottom profiling, and multichannel seismic data from the continental rise of the Cosmonaut Sea, East Antarctica, to (1) identify primary bedforms in a combined-current (i.e., turbidity current + contour current) channel–levee system and (2) infer bedform-associated sedimentary processes. Within turbidite channels and on adjacent levees and distal overbank deposits, scours, furrows, and sediment waves of varying dimensions and trends were identified. These bedforms are interpreted to have formed in two steps, which have been likely repeated over and over again through time. First, scours and sediment waves within the channels were formed by turbidity currents, while sediment waves on adjacent levees were likely formed by synchronous interactions between overspilled unconfined turbidity currents and the westward Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) contour current. Second, after waning of the episodic turbidity currents, AABW flow created a field of erosional furrows on a distal overbank, with these furrows truncating the large field of sediment waves earlier generated by the combined flow of interacting currents. Bedform locations, orientations, and truncating relationships are key for identifying the likely origins of mixed-system bedforms.